In noting the passing of newscaster icon Walter Cronkite, we present a little something that may have otherwise been lost in the tributes gushing through the media this weekend. In July of 1971, a time Brit Hume has recently referred to as Walter Cronkite's "heyday," Al Capp winged newspaper readers through a sequence referencing the CBS Evening News anchorman in his comic strip, Li'l Abner.
Cronkite was a legend in his own time and, even by 1971, beloved as well as controversial. Vice-President Spiro Agnew vocally considered him among the nattering northeast elite liberal press. Archie Bunker -- a "pinko." To Middle America, he was "Uncle Walter."
Capp had long been a national celebrity himself and, by the 70s, known as an outspoken right-wing establishment figure who had in recent years parodied the "lefty" likes of Joan Baez and Johnny Carson in his work. Here Cronkite gets off easier than most, a mere mock in a bird christened the "Water Kronkitingale."
It was also pretty well established that the once-"beluvvid" Li'l Abner was running out of high-octane plots and running mainly on counter-counter-cultural fumes. Here, Daisymae is on a journey to find a treasure to attract a date for a familiar Dogpatch character archetype named "Dateless" Brown. First, they must get their itinerary from the equally subtly named "Crooked Miles," each using her best assets (click to enlarge):
I won't give away all the details, but the gals must follow an insistent divining rod in the form of a twisted piece of barbed wire. Now that the table's been set, dig in:
No word if these strips LAID AN EGG or even caused a FLAP with Mr. Cronkite. One could go on a limb to argue satirist Capp was making a broad metaphorical comparison of the dreadful birdsong to Cronkite's nightly newscast warbling. Close examination, however, does not reveal the birds' affinity for their left wing over their right. Most folks probably figured it was simply a CHEEP laugh and ploy to draw attention to an aging "comical strip" (safe bet).
And that's the way it... well, you know.
To view this sequence in historical context, click here.
For more MangMade Al Capp business and his controversial radio show, click here.
Cronkite was a legend in his own time and, even by 1971, beloved as well as controversial. Vice-President Spiro Agnew vocally considered him among the nattering northeast elite liberal press. Archie Bunker -- a "pinko." To Middle America, he was "Uncle Walter."
Capp had long been a national celebrity himself and, by the 70s, known as an outspoken right-wing establishment figure who had in recent years parodied the "lefty" likes of Joan Baez and Johnny Carson in his work. Here Cronkite gets off easier than most, a mere mock in a bird christened the "Water Kronkitingale."
It was also pretty well established that the once-"beluvvid" Li'l Abner was running out of high-octane plots and running mainly on counter-counter-cultural fumes. Here, Daisymae is on a journey to find a treasure to attract a date for a familiar Dogpatch character archetype named "Dateless" Brown. First, they must get their itinerary from the equally subtly named "Crooked Miles," each using her best assets (click to enlarge):
I won't give away all the details, but the gals must follow an insistent divining rod in the form of a twisted piece of barbed wire. Now that the table's been set, dig in:
No word if these strips LAID AN EGG or even caused a FLAP with Mr. Cronkite. One could go on a limb to argue satirist Capp was making a broad metaphorical comparison of the dreadful birdsong to Cronkite's nightly newscast warbling. Close examination, however, does not reveal the birds' affinity for their left wing over their right. Most folks probably figured it was simply a CHEEP laugh and ploy to draw attention to an aging "comical strip" (safe bet).
And that's the way it... well, you know.
To view this sequence in historical context, click here.
For more MangMade Al Capp business and his controversial radio show, click here.
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